Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, the Sustainable Business Leader Program is a fee based certification program. The cost of the program is dependant on square footage with rates beginning at $600 per business. Non-profits are eligible for a 20% discount. SBLP also offers a number of payment plans. Speak to an SBLP Coordinator to get a quote and learn more.

The nominal SBLP fee includes:

Hands on technical assistance in greening your business including an operational assessment, customized recommendations and connections to applicable resources.

Certification as a Sustainable Business Leader for a period of 2 years The right to display the Sustainable Business Leader decal on your work place windows, business vehicles, and other relevant spaces and the electronic decal on your website, in newsletters, electronic communications, signs, and all printed materials .

Complimentary one year introductory business membership to the Sustainable Business Network (SBN) and benefits of membership. Listing on the SBN website: www.sbnboston.org as an SBN member.

Complimentary introductory priority listing in the new Local Green Guide, Massachusetts premier green business directory. Listing on the SBLP website under "Graduates".

Inclusion in press releases and other communications to the media about the certification of your company as a Sustainable Business Leader.

As of January 2012, 99 businesses from all over Greater Boston of various types and sizes have been certified as Sustainable Business Leaders. This number continues to grow, so check with us for the latest figure. A list of current participants and graduates can be found on the SBLP website

The SBLP was launched by the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Boston in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the Boston Redevelopment Authority in 2008.

This technical assistance program builds on the successful “Business Summits for a Sustainable Boston” which the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Boston organized in conjunction with the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) in 2006 and 2007. These bi-monthly meetings created a forum for small and medium-size Boston-based businesses to share waste reduction strategies and learn about new climate protection initiatives. The Business Summits culminated with the successful “Green Business Awards” presented by Mayor Menino in the spring of 2007.

After running the Business Summits and assisting the City of Boston in creating and organizing the Green Business awards, SBN understood that there were a large number of small and medium-size businesses that needed help in reducing their carbon footprint. The Boston Redevelopment Authority and SBN wanted to reach out to and assist businesses that weren’t aware of how to reduce their waste generation rate, lower their energy and water consumption, and purchase green products produced from local and regional manufacturers.

As a result, the Sustainable Business Leader Program was created to assist Boston businesses in becoming more sustainable by offering technical, hands-on assistance that is affordable, practical, and actionable.

We work with businesses from various sectors that are independently owned and operated.

If you are interested in making lasting sustainable changes that will help your company decrease its carbon footprint while increasing savings then the SBLP is the right choice for you. If you are looking for third party certification for all of your sustainability related efforts, the SBLP is an affordable certification program that has certified almost 100 local businesses. If you are a busy business owner who wants to go green the SBLP is a hands on technical assistance program that will help guide you on the right path.

Are we too small? We want to make 'green' changes but don't know how? Are we too big? We're part of a franchise, are we eligible?

Studies show that there is a growing population of environmentally conscious consumers in todays market. Given this trend there has been an upsurge of companies marketing themselves and their products as 'green'. This has led to a lot of greenwashing, wherein businesses position themselves as 'green' without having made any real commitment towards greening their operations. It is for this reason that third party certification is important, to recognize and measure, where possible, the real and impact-full changes that a business makes in greening its business practices.

The Sustainable Business leader Program offers an affordable and practical method for third party certification.

The SBLP process takes anywhere between 4-6 months depending on the business and the recommendations made. SBLP staff make it a point to work at a pace that the participating business is comfortable with.

The benefits of the participating in the Sustainable Business Leader Program are numerous and vary from business to business, some of the general benefits are: • Hands on technical assistance in greening your business including an operational assessment, customized recommendations and connections to applicable resources • Certification as a Sustainable Business Leader for a period of 2 years • The right to display the Sustainable Business Leader decal on your work place windows, business vehicles, and other relevant spaces and the electronic decal on your website, in newsletters, electronic communications, signs, and all printed materials • Complimentary one year introductory business membership to the Sustainable Business Network (SBN) and benefits of membership. Listing on the SBN website: www.sbnboston.org as an SBN member. • Complimentary introductory listing in the new Local Green Guide, Massachusetts premier green business directory. • Listing on the SBLP website under "Graduates" • Inclusion in press releases and other communications to the media about the certification of your company as a Sustainable Business Leader • Opportunities to promote your certification via SBLP's established social media platforms

It's easy! Fill out an application for our review. Once received, an SBLP Coordinator will contact you to discuss the program in further detail, schedule and assessment and answer any questions that you may have.